Annual Town Meeting amendments
With all members present, the board considered whether to amend several zoning bylaws for Annual Town Meeting March 31, 2007. The planners imposed a January deadline to leave time for hearings on the revisions.
First to be considered was a change to the driveway bylaw (§125-31). Today, no more than four lots can branch off a common driveway; fewer if more than two are hammerhead or backland lots.
An unintended consequence of the current bylaw surfaced recently in hearings for the Walter lot on Lovers Lane, where a fourth branch would have been better than a new drive. Although a new branch on the common drive is not allowed under current law for the Walter lot, it would have avoided many problems introduced by the conforming driveway, including flooding, an awkward sight line, and breaching a scenic stone wall. An amendment to the existing driveway bylaw would strive to avoid situations like the Walters’. (See below for more information on the Walter hearing).
Writing incisive introductions for the town’s zoning bylaw was another item on the list of possible amendments. Chairwoman Mary Essary explained, “We need to be sure that the spirit of the law agrees with Harvard’s Master Plan,” which is now being updated.
The board also weighed the benefits of adopting the so-called “missing meeting” law, enacted by the state in June 2006. The law allows a town board member to be absent from one hearing and still vote in subsequent meetings on the topic discussed at the missed hearing. Voting in such cases was previously disallowed. A member can vote only after reviewing all the hearing’s documentation. To use a missed meeting bylaw in Harvard, Town Meeting must adopt it. The Planning Board agreed that the bylaw would be viable only with consistent videotaping of its hearings.
Preliminary plan for Unitarian Fellowship Building
After brief deliberation, the board decided that Unitarian planning board members should not recuse themselves from the hearingabout construction of a new Unitarian Fellowship building, because voting was not required. Representing the Unitarian Church, Dave Durrant and Lindsay Shives presented a preliminary plan for a new or significantly remodeled fellowship building. “We want your input before we go to the church’s Building Planning Committee with a proposal,” Durrant said. According to Shives, the church wants to “pursue a new building of a similar size, but with more parking, improved systems, and a look more in keeping with the neighborhood.” Shown in the plan is a building of a slightly smaller footprint, but with increased square footage. The parking lot would be in two parts at differing grades, and would remain gravel to avoid run-off and other problems caused by large impervious surfaces. The driveway would be preserved, as would the property’s mature trees.
The board asked about site-plan review, and consulted town counsel Mark Lanza, who said, “The Planning Board has no jurisdiction. The zoning enforcement officer [Gabe Vellante] is the person with authority over this.” Lanza advised Durrant and Shives to have the church’s attorney look at the bylaw (§125-38-A-3).
Driveway for Walter lot
Attorney Al Barbieri and his client, Donald Walter, attended another in a series of hearings for a driveway plan—for Walter’s house lot on Lovers Lane—that has sparked a probable amendment to the driveway bylaw. After a lengthy debate, the board devised a special condition, to be written by Lanza by December 11. Under a three-pronged condition, an amendment to the driveway bylaw will be prepared for Town Meeting. In the meantime, Walter must agree to ask the ZBA to for a variance to build a fourth branch to the common drive. If both the amendment and the variance request fail, then the Planning Board will grant Walter a special permit for a new driveway. Barbieri and Walter expressed satisfaction with the proposed conditions for the special permit.
Other business
A hearing for the Maka lot on Stow Road was postponed.
An Approval-Not-Required revision was approved for the 281 Still River Road Trust. Mark MacGowan of Ross Associates represented owner Robert Capobianco.
Planning Board member Joseph Sudol reported that the writing of user-friendly instructions for ANR and special permit applications is in progress.
Note: This From the Board article appears in the December 8, 2006, print edition of the Press.
